If you read the article the Maldivians that reported the aircraft where on the atol of Kuda Huvadhoo. A few hundred miles away from any airstrip.
http://metro.co.uk/2014/03/18/flight-mh370-residents-on-remote-island-in-maldives-saw-jet-matching-missing-malaysia-airlines-planes-description-4640688/
The actual island of the witnesses is is Kuda Huvadhoo.